Legal Form and Headquarters

ARTICLE 1
The World Backgammon Federation (the WBGF) shall be an association registered under Austrian law.
The WBGF shall be neutral, politically and religiously.
The WBGF's headquarters shall be situated in Austria.
The association is officially located at A-6130 Schwaz, Austria.
An executive board (the Executive Board) shall be formed.

Statutes Supremacy

ARTICLE 2
These statutes (the Statutes) shall form the constitution of the WBGF. All decisions and regulations shall be in accordance with these Statutes.

Prohibition of Discrimination

ARTICLE 3
The WBGF shall not allow discrimination based on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, social class, political or other beliefs.

Logo and Flag

ARTICLE 4
The WBGF has a logo and a flag. Description of the logo and flag, its usage and intellectual property protection is regulated by special act which is adopted by the Executive Board.

International Organisations

ARTICLE 5
The WBGF may join other international organisations by the decision of its general assembly (the General Assembly).

Objectives

ARTICLE 6
The objectives of the WBGF shall be to:

• develop, improve, expand and promote backgammon as a mind sport according to principles of Olympic and sports rules;
• deal with all questions relating to tournament backgammon taking place in all member nations and where otherwise invited;
• organise and conduct international backgammon competitions and tournaments at a global level;
• promote unity among its member nations (Member Associations) in matter relating to international backgammon;
• safeguard the overall interests of Member Associations;
• act as a representative voice for the global backgammon family as a whole; and
• respect the interests of Member Associations, settle disputes between Member Associations and assist them in any matter upon request.

The WBGF shall seek to achieve its objectives by implenting any measures it deems appropriate, such as setting down rules, entering into agreements or conventions, taking decisions or adopting programmes.

Activities

ARTICLE 7
The WBGF's activities are:

• coordination of activities and preservation and promotion of its members' interests
• establishment of the development of backgammon policies at a global level
• regulation of the competitions system at a global level
• organisation and conduct of sporting events, particularly an official global championship (the WBGF Team and Individual Championships) and other competitions at a global level
• adoption and implementation of WBGF tournament rules and adoption of acts in connection with their application
• establishment of evaluation and categorization of players, particularly by ratings and titles
• encouragement of development of national organisations, particularly by assisting the establishment of national federations, where none currently exist
• encouragement of ethical and moral standards in sports, respect of human dignity, fair play, tolerance, nonviolence and a general sporting culture
• advocacy for legal recognition of backgammon as a mind sport on the national and international stage
• perform any other tasks which have been determined pursuant to these Statutes and any other applicable rules and regulations
• the pursuit of its own commercial objects in accordance with any applicable laws or regulations in order to finance its activities

Cooperation

ARTICLE 8
The WBGF shall perform the objectives and activities referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of these Statutes directly and in conjunction with its members.
In order to achieve such objectives and activities, the WBGF shall cooperate with any national authorities and international organisations when necessary.

Official Language

ARTICLE 9
The official language of the WBGF shall be English.

Membership

ARTICLE 10
Membership of the WBGF is open to any national backgammon associations, based in a country which is a member of the United Nations (the UN) or has a National Olympic Committee which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (the IOC), and which is responsible for the organisation and implementation of backgammon-related matters in the territory of such country and which freely and voluntarily accepts the WBGF's statutes, rules, objectives and activities.

Where an application to join the WBGF is received from any national backgammon association based in a country which is not a member of the UN and does not have a National Olympic Committee which is recognised by the IOC, it shall be put to a vote of the Executive Board whereby: (i) if the Executive Board by a simple majority vote to reject such application, it shall be rejected; or (ii) if the Executive Board by a simple majority vote to accept the consideration of such application, it shall be put to a simple majority vote of the Full Member Associations of the WBGF which may be convened either at the General Assembly or conducted by other communication means including email, telephone, social media or any other method or combination of methods adopted by the Executive Board.

At the General Assembly, decisions on the final admission of new member associations shall be made before any other order of business except modificatons of the statutes. A new member can then fully participate in all matters of the WBGF, in accordance with the membership status that it has been accorded, including any rights to vote, from the moment it is accepted for membership by the General Assembly.

Membership may also be permitted, to those non-profit backgammon associations which are overseas territories of, and have sports autonomy from, the parent state organisation, if such an organisation is in existence and subject to the consent of such parent state organisation, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.

Subject to any exceptions otherwise referred to herein, only one association per state or territory shall be permitted to become a member.

Member Types

ARTICLE 11
Member Associations may be of one of only three types, Full Member Associations, Associate Member Associations or Observer Member Associations.

Full Member Associations are those which the WBGF considers fully responsible for backgammon regulation in their states or territories and who have all rights and obligations from these Statutes.

Associate Member Associations are those which the WBGF considers not sufficiently developed. Associate Member Associations have the right of participation in WBGF's bodies, but without voting rights. Associate membership can last a maximum of two years, after which the Executive Board shall reconsider their membership status.

Observer Member Associations are those which the WBGF exceptionally considers as not yet fulfilling all the criteria of being Full Member Associations or Associate Member Associations but where there is a mutual understanding that at an unspecified future time they may fulfill such criteria and be considered for Full Member Association or Associate Member Association status.

Organs

ARTICLE 17
The organs (each an Organ and together the Organs) through which the WBGF may act shall be:

• the General Assembly
• the Executive Board
• its president (the President)
• its general secretary (the General Secretary) and Administration

1. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Appointment, Meetings

ARTICLE 45
The General Assembly may recall members of the WBGF bodies if they negligently perform their obligations, fail to be present at the sessions or damage the WBGF in any way.

The mandate of a newly elected member of the bodies shall last until the expiration of the mandate of the person in whose place such member was elected.

Assets

ARTICLE 46
The assets of the WBGF shall include:

• immovable property including any intellectual property rights
• movable property
• funds
• any other property or other rights of the WBGF

Other Sources Pursuant to Law and Regulations

ARTICLE 47
Revenue and expenditures of the WBGF shall be determined by the financial plan.

The Executive Board shall appoint a legal or physical person to manage the accounting and financial operations of the WBGF.

An annual report on material and financial operations shall be submitted by the President to the Assembly for discussion and approval.

Accounting

ARTICLE 48
The WBGF shall keep business books and develop financial reports pursuant to regulations governing the accounting procedures of non-profit organisations.

Arbitration Court

ARTICLE 49
(1) An internal arbitration court (the "Arbitration Court") shall be appointed to settle all disputes concerning the association. It is an "arbitration institution" in the sense of the Austrian Association Act ("Vereinsgesetz") 2002 and not an arbitration court according to §§ 577 ff ZPO ("Zivilporzessordnung" – Austrian Code of Civil Procedure ).

(2) The Arbitration Court shall be composed of at least three Executive Board members ("Arbitrators"). It shall be formed in such a way that one party to the dispute nominates a member as Arbitrator in writing to the Executive Board. Upon request by the Executive Board within seven days, the other party to the dispute shall nominate a member as Arbitrator within 14 days. After notification by the Executive Board within seven days, the Arbitrators nominated shall elect a third Executive Board member as chairman of the Arbitration Court within a further 14 days. In the event of a tie, the nominees shall be decided by lot. The members of the Arbitration Court must be independent of the matter in dispute.

(3) The Arbitration Court shall reach its decision by a simple majority of votes after hearing both sides and taking into account any relevant information it deems appropriate. Any decision reached by the Arbitration Court shall be final.

(4) In online tournaments, the tournament director makes all decisions in the first instance; in the event of an appeal, an arbitration panel consisting of at least 3 members of the WBIF Committee must make the final decision. The WBIF rules in English are the basis.

Auditors

ARTICLE 50
(1) Two auditors are elected by the General Assembly for a period of 2 years. Re-election is possible. The auditors must be independent to the subject of the audit.

(2) The auditors shall be responsible for the ongoing control of the business and the financial management of the association with regard to the accuracy of accounting and the use of any funds in accordance with these Statutes. The Executive Board shall submit the necessary documents to the auditors and provide them with the required information. The auditors shall report to the Executive Board.

(3) Legal transactions between auditors and the association require the approval of the General Assembly.

Termination

ARTICLE 51
The WBGF shall terminate its activities if such decision is made by the General Assembly by at least three quarters of the votes of the total number of the members of the General Assembly entitled to vote upon a discussion, or based on any relevant law or other regulations governing such matters.

In case of the termination of the WBGF, the remaining assets of the WBGF shall be allocated to organisations with similar objectives.

Public Nature

ARTICLE 52
The activities of the WBGF shall be public.

The public nature of the activities shall be obtained by:

• the timely provision of discussion materials to the members of the WBGF bodies and other invited and interested persons
• informing the public press and other public media on convening sessions
• informing the public about the activities and business operations of the WBGF through the media and in press conferences
• any other means

Exceptionally, when required by the agenda contents, sessions of the Executive Board and other bodies of the WBGF may be closed to the public.

Awards

ARTICLE 53
The WBGF shall present recognitions and awards in the honour of outstanding contributions to the development of backgammon at a global level.

The Executive Board shall present awards and recognitions by its decision, based on awards and recognitions determined by the Executive Board in consultation with, and on behalf of, the General Assembly.

Amendments

ARTICLE 54
The Statutes may only be changed and adopted by the General Assembly, by a majority vote of the members of the General Assembly.

Interpretation

ARTICLE 55
Interpretation of the provisions of these Statutes shall be provided by the General Assembly.

Interpretation of other acts shall be provided by the Executive Board.

Entry into Force

ARTICLE 56
These Statutes shall enter into force on the date of their adoption.

These Statutes shall be available to all Member Associations at all times.